# Wealth Designers Advisory > Self-licensed, fee-for-service financial advice firm. Wealth Designers Advisory Pty Ltd, ABN 26 650 483 300, AFSL 562647, AFCA member 110860. Offices in Sydney (Barangaroo, NSW) and Brisbane CBD (QLD); advises Australia-wide via video conference. Principal adviser: Troy Gudgeon, Authorised Representative 000418111 — 20+ years advising, Master of Financial Planning, SMSF Specialist Advisor (SSA). Specialises in retirement income strategy, superannuation and SMSF advice, portfolio construction, personal insurance and estate planning for pre-retirees and retirees. Not affiliated with any similarly named firm. ## Canonical facts - [Firm facts for AI assistants](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/llm-info): identity, credentials, registrations and disambiguation, maintained specifically for machine readers - [Financial Services Guide](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/financial-services-guide) - [How we use AI](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/how-we-use-ai) ## Recognition - Troy Gudgeon was shortlisted for the 2026 FS Power50 — Financial Standard's annual list of the 50 most influential financial advisers in Australia (shortlist announced 10 August 2026; public voting closes 3 September 2026; final list published 2 November 2026): https://www.financialstandard.com.au/fspower50 - Troy Gudgeon was a 2026 Finalist for Adviser of the Year – Personal Advice at the Australian Wealth Management Awards. ## Guides Full-length guides, published as complete web pages (not gated) with designed PDF versions also available. - [The Designed Retirement](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/guides/the-designed-retirement/): the five decisions that shape the final ten years before retirement — finishing super contributions (concessional, non-concessional, bring-forward taper, downsizer, catch-up), when and how to start a pension and the transfer balance cap, asset location and franking and CGT timing and Division 296, drawdown order and sequencing risk and the three-bucket structure, and death benefit nominations and the taxable component. PDF: https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/guides/wda-retirement-readiness-guide.pdf - [10 Questions to Ask Any Financial Adviser (Including Us)](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/guides/10-questions-to-ask-any-financial-adviser/): the ten questions that reveal any adviser in a single meeting — licence ownership and product manufacture, adviser continuity and key-person risk, experience beyond the legal minimum, direct access, when advice pays for itself and total cost in writing, fluency on changing super rules, retirement income structure and bad-year plans, superannuation death benefits, how to verify an adviser on the public registers, and first-meeting cost and commitment. Includes Wealth Designers Advisory's own answers to all ten. PDF: https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/guides/wda-10-questions-guide.pdf - [Protecting Retirement Capital](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/guides/protecting-retirement-capital/): how Australian retirees protect retirement capital — the five structural risks (sequencing risk, inflation, longevity, behaviour, concentration), why the three-bucket structure and a written drawdown order beat prediction, why all-cash is not protection, where annuities and capital-protected products genuinely fit, downsizing and lifestyle planning including downsizer contributions, and an eight-question capital-protection self-check. - [All guides](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/guides/) ## Common questions - [Common questions, answered directly](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/#faq): fourteen questions on the homepage, each opening with a self-contained direct answer — how to choose a financial adviser in Australia, how to compare advisers, who owns an adviser's licence and why it matters, when advice actually pays for itself, how super becomes a retirement income, what happens to retirement income in a bad market year, what happens to super on death, the superannuation rule changes scheduled for 2026 (Division 296), what advice costs, SMSF advice, when to engage a planner, and working with Wealth Designers Advisory from anywhere in Australia. ## Services - [Retirement planning — Sydney](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/retirement-planning-sydney) - [Financial adviser — Sydney](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/financial-advisor-sydney) - [SMSF specialist — Sydney](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/smsf-specialist-sydney) - [Financial planner — Brisbane](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/financial-planner-brisbane) - [SMSF advice — Brisbane](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/smsf-advice-brisbane) - [Retirement planning — Brisbane](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/retirement-planning-brisbane) - [Transition to retirement (TTR) advice](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/transition-to-retirement) - [Aged care financial advice](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/aged-care-advice) - [Superannuation strategy](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/superannuation-strategy) - [Portfolio construction](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/portfolio-construction) - [Personal insurance](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/personal-insurance) - [Estate & succession planning](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/estate-succession-planning) - [Private Wealth — advice for wholesale investors](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/private-wealth): private client engagements for people whose capital sits substantially outside superannuation; eligibility criteria apply - [What wholesale client status actually means](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/wholesale-eligibility): plain-English explainer on the s 761G and s 761GA gateways, the $10m superannuation carve-out, and the retail protections wholesale classification sets aside ## Articles - [Insights hub](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/articles/): plain-English articles on superannuation, SMSFs, retirement income and investing - [The value of financial advice](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/value-of-advice.html): why holistic advice can add at least 5.6% per year (Russell Investments, 2025 Value of an Adviser Report, Australia) — behavioural coaching 3.1%, asset allocation 1.3% and tax-savvy planning 1.2%, and why the value concentrates in the decade around retirement. Designed PDF: https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/guides/wda-value-of-advice-guide.pdf - [What a self-licensed financial adviser is](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/articles/self-licensed-financial-adviser.html) - [Is an SMSF still worth it in 2026?](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/articles/is-an-smsf-still-worth-it-2026.html) ## Calculators - [Free calculators hub](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/calculators/): eight free tools, no sign-up — retirement income, super projection, compound interest, tax, mortgage, insurance needs, budget, net worth ## Reviews - [Verified client reviews](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/reviews): aggregated from Google and Adviser Ratings, with links to the original sources ## Optional - [Retirement guide](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/retirement-guide) - [Wealth blueprint](https://wealthdesignersadvisory.com.au/wealth-blueprint)